Rich Man's War
by Klavierliebe
Summary: Assorted pairings, genres, characters and themes - because dying honestly is easier than living a lie.
1. invisible

So, hi.  
These are assorted one-shots I had previously posted on GA for the blog wars. I'm publishing them here now, one per chapter.  
Rating will stay a T, and there will be OTGSY spoilers.  
Review and tell me what you think. (:

* * *

Invisible

_Macey McHenry. _God, she's so perfect. Sometimes Cammie forgets about a time when they were teenagers, when battle scars weren't slathered in make-up and smiles. Sometimes she just sees the unattainable, killer blue-eyed beauty her best friend is today. That's all Zach sees, too, and it seems like he's forgotten all about a time when he and Cammie were teenagers and when dips in the Great Hall meant something to his stuttering heart.

Now all he can notice is how Macey's grown up so fine with that make-up and smile.

It doesn't matter, though - because they're best friends, right? A little ache in the Chameleon's heart doesn't mean much in the long run, especially when she catches him (_her _him) staring at said BFF again and again and again, so much she can't take it. They're not best friends; if they were Miss-I'm-So-Perfectly-Unreachable would back off.

See, that's the thing: Macey's not doing anything wrong. She's not doing anything, really, but cocking that hip and raising that eyebrow at him. It's not her fault that Zach's suddenly tripping over both feet to follow her around like a puppy dog.

It's not Macey's fault. It's Cammie's.

She knows it, too. The invisible best friend with those doe eyes knows she's been overlooked by the guy she thought she was in love with. But give her some credit. Cameron Ann Morgan is not going to run away because of some guy (even if he understands her better then anyone, even if he's got the brightest eyes she's ever seen) because she's stronger then that.

Then she's called in for last minute back-up.

She never makes it, she sits in the lab with Liz and listens to the comms as her best friend and ex-lover count the moments to their death (what a mission gone wrong) and she can't help the tears when they kiss. They're cut off by explosions.

Static.

She cries.


	2. stunning

Thanks for all your feedback! (:

* * *

Stunning

It's a well-known fact that Macey McHenry was stunning.

If she were a mathematical equation, scientists would devote their entire life to ogle her. If she was a type of clothing, everyone would want to buy her. The worst part is that Macey's not a math problem _or_ clothes, yet there are many men who do nothing but stare when she's around and there are many agencies willing to bribe her service.

It's a little-known fact that Macey McHenry's life sucks.

Yet Jonas Mackie is very aware of that fact, mainly because he's the very one who deduced it. After years of observation, he was absolutely sure of it - so of course he set out to change it. No one deserved to have a suck-ish life, even if he himself was only a tech nerd and not a raging superstar like Macey herself; so what if he couldn't do anything? Trying sure counted.

She turned twenty five, he was the only one who remembered. He congratulated her on a Level Thirteen mission completed successfully, she shot him a smile that took his breath away. _Maybe there's something _alive_ in this stunning girl yet_. He chatted with her in the office any chance he could. It took her a while, but she eventually returned his calls and emails and they became solid friends.

The day comes where Jonas, in all his bushy-haired spectacled glory, can't resist. He kisses her, his best friend Macey McHenry, and even though she's practically infamous and brilliant and glowing - all around stunning - she kisses him back with everything she's got. (she'll realize he's all she ever had.)

Liz faints when she hears they're together, and Macey scowls as she sits in the hospital next to her friend, her brilliant "sister" who never really grew up. Jonas had been her first boyfriend. Now he was going to be Macey's last - that was the plan, anyway, but would life be any fun if it went according to plan?

She comes back from one mission with five inches of her long black hair gone and lines under her eyes. He saw the scars but didn't ask, and he didn't stop her when she grabbed his arm and they ran - flew, actually. She gave him a fake passport on the plane and he hadn't yet spoken, but he didn't need to. She was scared. That's all that mattered.

Then he's Jackie Meza, and she's Milly Mackenzie, and apparently they've been married two years (she had the rings to boot) and the CIA will never find them. Instead, the Circle of Cavan will find them.

They were at home.

"Will you," he began, on one knee in front of her, "Macey McHenry, marry m-"

He was cut off as the Circle agents knocked them both over the head.

She woke up in a cell, her face streaked with tears as she whispered, "Yes," into his mane of curly hair. He never woke up, but she smacked his glasses back on his face and rocked him side to side anyway, because she knew she'd done this when she ran from the CIA. This was her fault.

She laughed as she cried, she laughed as she died because the geek did get the girl after all.


	3. closets & cell phones

Warning: Slash. My first attempt.

* * *

Closets & Cell Phones

"You're an idiot," were the first words out of Grant's mouth. Zach sighed, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head. _What did he do to deserve this torture?_

"Look," he began, "I didn't know the Director installed those locks. I just got back from Canada yesterday, alright?" They'd walked into the supply closet to get some more paper for the printer and whoosh! The door shut behind them. Two minutes alone in a closet with Grant Newman, and _anyone _would be clawing their ears off. The testosterone level was climbing with every huffed breath and indignant stare - tensions were running high - closet space was diminishing…

Grant's eyes smoldered. Even though the light was dim and Zach wasn't facing him, he _knew_. Wait a second - "Grant, get your paws off my chest."

A long pause. The two hands that had been inching up Zach's body disappeared. "I'm not touching your chest," Grant mumbled, facing away. Zach's sudden urge to slap him over the head and/or hug him from behind was barely contained. Instead, he heaved a sigh and pulled out his cell phone.

"Since we're obviously not man enough to break out of here, I'm calling Cammie," Zach announced, punching in her number (it totally wasn't on speed-dial). Unfortunately, Grant had chosen that moment to accidentally back into the shelves behind them, causing a thick binder to fall and knock the phone out of Zach's hand.

"_Grant_, you imbecile - ow - where did it go?" Zach asked, rubbing his hand. Grant shrugged sheepishly, and they both bent over to search the floor. Thanks to the very small quarters they were shoved into, their heads knocked together with an audible crack.

After a long stream of cuss words: "I hate you, Grant."

His hands were back on Zach's chest. They'd fallen and he'd landed on top of his CIA partner - whom he could hardly see in the light. He was gripped with the sudden urge to tell Zach the truth. After all, nothing else could possibly go wrong; he was locked in a closet with Zachary Goode. "Dude, I'm gay."

After an insanely long period of awkward silence, Zach said, "Me too."

So Grant kissed him.

Neither one of them remembered the phone, lying abandoned on the floor, with an open-mouthed Cammie listening to every word.


	4. like father like son

Since this one is very short, I will upload the next one today, too.

* * *

Like Father Like Son

Joe Solomon was _sixteen_.

He was young and reckless, he was young and stupid, but he was practically the same age as Zach. The difference is, Zach isn't young or reckless or stupid - not all the time, anyway. The difference is Solomon had a choice, while he didn't. He was born into this, and sometimes he feels like leaving his ex-teacher to the dogs because _he had the choice _and he chose wrong.

Trying to atone for past mistakes will take a lifetime.

He hopes Solomon is guilty forever.

If everything was right in the world - if the Circle of Cavan didn't exist, if Gallagher Academy and Blackthorne Institute were dust in the wind, if there were no such thing as spies or assassins - he would never know pain like he does now. Perhaps his father would be alive, his mother would smile, (he wouldn't live this life of half-truths and guilt) and he never would've met Cammie.

It scares him the most when he thinks it would be worth it, trading _her _for a lifetime of peace.

Then he realizes it would be pointless.

She's the reason he wants to be good - God, if it weren't for her he'd be either A) dead and gone or B) a Circle of Cavan agent. Neither of those seem fun, but surely less complicated than his lonely existence now. He wishes, sometimes, that his mother blew up in that explosion and he'd never have to deal with her again.

But the thing is, he'd put up with her and the Circle of Cavan and Joe Solomon's stupid choices for the rest of eternity if he got to spend it with Cammie.


	5. assassin

My least favorite of the one-shots I did, but by far the longest.

* * *

Assassin

"Where are you?"

Her whispered words didn't make a sound as she continued slinking down the passage. Her hands, however, _did _make noise as she fumbled in her pocket for Mr. Fibs's stolen laser pen. Using it to cut her way deeper into Blackthorne's underground caves was probably great extra credit, but if her mother knew she was actually here she'd throw a fit…

In fact, as far as Cammie knew, _no one _was aware of her current location. She'd been very careful to fall right off the grid - sure, it absolutely sucked not being able to see her friends or her mom and know that they're okay. But protecting them like this was so much better.

"Please let this work," she breathed as she rounded a vaguely familiar corridor. The Circle was here, she knew it. If the Circle was here, then Zach's mother would be here. The woman from Boston - how she haunted her dreams with words about Matthew Morgan. That's why Cammie was here.

She had to save him.

More importantly, she had to end them.

Inching forward, she peered down into the cavern where, just months before, she'd watched Zach say goodbye as the world exploded. An involuntary shiver overtook her as the tight-lipped woman from that night appeared.

Three armed men followed her, dragging someone behind them. Craning her neck and praying no one would look up (she'd already checked for guards on this level) she managed to catch sight of the man as they threw him on the ground. Her heartbeat quickened - _is that..?_

"You were perfectly fine where you were, Morgan," the woman spat. "There was no need to change that."

He looked up, breathing heavy, from his position in the dirt. "My time is almost up…you know that."

_Dad_! Cammie wanted to leap down and crush him to her, but instead she gripped the rocks so hard her fingers bled. How could she possibly get him out of here? The guard's rotation would change soon and he'd head this way. She only had so much time…

Springing up, she stepped down the abandoned hallway to her right. As soon as the burly man guarding came into view, she charged at him. Her momentum surprised him and within a moment he was unconscious and fell to the floor with a thud. "No," Cammie mumbled as the sound reverberated through the caves.

Taking the gun from Mr. Guard's pocket, she turned and sprinted back to her position on the rocks overlooking the cavern. Her breathing was fast and quiet as she surveyed the still-ashy room - her father was still there. Now she had a weapon. Now she could save him.

_If only I were senior, I would've taken an advanced weapon class already…_Cammie cocked the gun, muffling the tell-tale click with her jacket. Now just to wait until the woman was distracted for a moment.

As if her prayer was heard by some other being, the red-haired woman hissed something in Cammie's father's ear, then whipped around to retrieve a folder by the side of the room.

Fast as lightning, she launched herself over the side and hurtled towards the floor. Landing with practically no sound, she tried to ignore her father and the slight stinging behind her eyes. She was so close to him. She could reach out and touch his sweater…no. Concentration. _You can do this, Cammie, _she thought.

"You speak, you're dead." The gun was aimed at the back of Zach's mother. She turned around, meeting Cammie's eyes without a sound. The girl in her ached when her father gasped, but the spy was one thousand percent focused. This was her moment.

Taking a confident step forward and keeping the gun trained with "expert" aim (who really needs weapons class?) she grabbed her father's outstretched hand and helped him to his feet. The thick rope she'd attached when she dropped down here hung behind him; she gestured to it without looking.

He hesitated.

The woman said, "Cameron, what a nice surprise. Happy reunion - it's been five years now, correct?"

The first instinct Cammie had was to fire the gun, but she held back. "Go," she whispered to her father. "Before it's too late."

Why wasn't he listening? She ripped her gaze from the woman for an instant to flash over his face. His eyes were as blue as she remembered, but sadder then ever before.

"I think you're a bit confused. Your father won't be leaving today, dear. He stays with us; you could say he's one of the Circle now." Her words were emotionless, and they reminded Cammie of when Zach closed himself off from the world - from her - which he unfortunately did a lot. They really were flesh and blood…

Then the words sunk in, and she flashed her eyes to her father again. He was staring at her, as if transfixed, but said nothing. Grabbing his arm and desperate to keep the gun steady, she back up towards the rock wall, dragging him with her. "We're _leaving_," she quipped at the woman.

Her father refused to move. Cammie was left to tug at his sleeve like his helpless little girl, and the woman spoke again, stepping a few paces forward as the gun wobbled. "Why not stay for a chat, Cammie? You and your father obviously have a lot to catch up on."

The burning behind her eyes intensified as Matthew Morgan stood, still as a statue. Finally she swept his legs out from under him and with all her effort, lifted her father into her arms. If she was forced to climb all the way to the top where her laser-opened shortcut lay, then she would. The gun clattered on the dirt and the woman smiled.

Cammie's father immediately leaped from her arms as if she'd electrocuted him. "Dad, let's go," she begged, the tears pricking her eyes as she snatched up the gun once more.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, and the tears streaked down her face. She hadn't heard that voice in so long…

The woman stepped even closer. "Well, Mr. Morgan, here's the chance to redeem your atrocious actions over the past month. Take this and kill your daughter," she said as she tossed him a gun. He caught it, still gazing at his only daughter.

Cammie's breathing sped up as she leveled the gun at Zach's mother. "Don't speak to him," she ordered.

But Matthew Morgan had already cocked the gun. It was aimed, with perfect precision, right for her heart. Nothing else existed right then, in that moment, as Cammie's entire universe crashed and burned. To discover her father was alive all this time, then have her dreams ripped away so soon…

No one heard the scuffle in the doorway - guards being pushed away.

Everyone heard the shot as it was fired.

"No!"

The next thing she knew, her shoulder was on fire and she lay in the dirt. Someone was standing over her, shielding her with their own body. There was an angry exclamation of, "No!" and two more shots were fired. Then it was silent.

"Gallagher Girl, stay awake - _please_, don't go to sleep just yet." Zach's arms were around her, and Cammie's eyes fluttered open. How did he find her? She was supposed to be gone; _no one _could know where she was!

"Zach," she gasped, breathing ragged as her arm lit up in pain. "Don't tell…don't tell my mother."

The betrayal and re-death of Matthew Morgan would kill her. She didn't need to know.

Zach's hold on her tightened. "Of course, Cammie."

Then she fell away to a world of dreams. Maybe there, a world where parents and children try to murder each other didn't ever have to exist.


	6. true colors

This is the last of the pre-written GA drabbles. However, I will keep updating this with other, unrelated one-shots. :)

* * *

True Colors

Abby gets the news before anyone else, and sometimes she hates her job.

The urge to track him down herself, just so she can shake him by the shoulders and _scream_, is overwhelming and she almost does it. Almost. She's trained better than that.

When Rachel hears and the CIA drags them both off for debriefs, it feels surreal. This could never happen. Not Joe Solomon, not the Circle of Cavan.

Not after Matthew.

But it has happened and she gets the full story that day. He was sixteen. She thinks of a time where dresses and boys meant just as much as missions and homework. Did he ever feel the same way - or was it that school of his from the very beginning?

There's no one to blame but him.

She remembers kissing him like it was yesterday. She also remembers her sister, beaming on her wedding day. Joe was the best man; did he think of killing his best friend then? He's a traitor, but it doesn't matter now. They're going to find answers and kill him.

He sails into that river and it takes every ounce of her willpower not to jump right in after him. She doesn't know what she'd do; slap him or kiss him or just cry.

It's the worst kind of backstab because maybe she loved him after all.


	7. tick tock boom

Procrastination + writer's block = freeverse.

* * *

**t i c k t o c k b o o m**

surrounded by lights  
flashing, flashing  
they blind you to the core

where is your love?  
where has she gone?  
all alone in the hall  
you s l i d e to the floor

"_you were supposed to take me with you_."

the questions pin her down  
eyes rocket (_side to side_)  
she's looking for her savior  
but you're right here.

_don't leave me, don't leave_-  
you're pleading on your knees.  
she's here in your arms and  
you've captured the world

(no such thing as tears)

she runs away with you  
two people with a d r e a m  
-just kids with a label  
w a n t e d: _dead_ or _alive_.

surrounded by lights  
flashing, flashing  
they blind you to the core

you open your eyes to dark  
a profound chill in her wake  
she's gonegonegone  
and you are h o m e.

twists and turns-you run faster  
it's not gonna be too late  
she's oh-so-still still and patient  
she's your entire life, all alone and  
just w a i t i n g for you.

**t i c k t o c k b o o m**

there  
is  
a  
hole  
in  
her  
head.

there is a hole in your heart.

"_you were supposed to take me with you_."


End file.
